Tag Archives: House Bill 1282

By a vote of 17 to 7, the House Appropriations Committee has given a favorable vote to a bill allowing the Maryland Stadium Authority to study the feasibility and economic cost of building a soccer stadium in Prince George’s County for D.C. United. But first committee members further amended the bill to reconfirm–really, truly, they mean it– that nothing in the measure would obligate the state to spend a dime more than the study nor commit the state to ultimately building the stadium.

It is not yet clear if the full House intends to attempt to take the bill up twice before the end of the day, as would be necessary for the body to give approval to the bill before tonight’s crossover deadline. After tonight, bills that pass one chamber are not guaranteed a hearing before the other chamber. D.C. United President Kevin Payne said he believes the study, which Stadium Authority officials estimated would cost $150,000 to $200,000, is a good idea. “We hope everyone will agree it makes sense to spend a little time to find out if it makes sense. That’s all we ask.”

This is great news, but it is only the first step. There’s a lot of work to go still. The next thing we need to focus on is call Prince George’s County Council. Vamos United!

House Bill 1282 will be voted on tomorrow, Monday March 30th, at 11am! Start calling the House Appropriations Committee and tell them you support the bill and United in Prince George’s County! Click here for the list of who to call.

The D.C. United stadium legislation, HB 1282, introduced by Del. Melony Griffith (thank her here) is scheduled for a hearing on St. Patrick’s Day! The House Appropriations Committee hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. on March 17, in Room 121 of the House Office Building in Annapolis.

It is critical for you to contact the members of the Committee (see our previous post) to express your support. Also, we should be working to bolster support within the Prince George’s County delegation in the House and Senate by writing them to express our support for United’s efforts.

GOAL!Maryland is planning a press conference for the 17th to show our support, and everyone is invited. Details to follow soon.

Please let us know by posting a reply here or on Facebook about whether you can make it to Annapolis. We were thinking that a few people might be planning to duck out a little early on St. Pat’s Day anyway. And if it seems like we’ll have a good turnout of United supporters, perhaps the press conference could become a rally. Let us know soon, so we can work on logistics.

This hearing is a big step toward United’s dream of playing in its own world-class stadium. We need to make our voices heard loud and clear during the next two weeks and on the 17th.

Show our support to decision-makers: Ultimately, to make this project move forward, we need support from Governor O’Malley and the key fiscal committees in the legislature: the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. The Chairs are Sen. Ulysses Currie, who, fortunately, is from Prince George’s County, and Del. Norman Conway, who represents Wicomico and Worcester Counties. The bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. It is HB 1282, and you can see the specifics here.

Reference the bill number if you write to a delegate. The Senate bill has not yet been introduced, but we’ll keep you posted – including when there will be hearings. If you would like to contact a Senator, just write that you support the stadium project and hope they will too. Tell them it is:

• Critical for the team’s continued success;

• A great economic boost in tough times for Prince George’s County and Maryland;

• And affordable – since the team and county officials pledge that private investment, and new revenue produced by the stadium, will enable the stadium to pay for itself.

Here is the list of the other Committee members. And you can use this page to find out who your Senator and Delegates are by typing in your address. Maryland residents please contact the Governor and Committee Chairs – but only contact members if you live or work in their district. If we start spamming them indiscriminately, they will ignore us.